Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

20 reviews

ultramariikka's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment

brendontyler's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol

marleens's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

For some reason I had completely missed the fact that this is a thriller instead of the horror I usually read from Stephen King. Not that I don’t enjoy thrillers, but they can be a bit hit or miss, especially police thrillers like this one turned out to be. Luckily we also got the POV of the villain of the piece, which made all the difference. If we had only stuck with Hodges, I might not have enjoyed it as much. I did miss King’s usually horror writing a bit but I had a good time with this one and might continue the series later. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

idk_indigo's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Okay, guys... hear me out but... I think the character Jerome might be black... I could be wrong though, please don't cancel me

Mr Mercedes was my first finished Stephen King novel, and I think maybe a combination of the very white author constantly using racial slurs and the very white narrator constantly saying them, just turned me off so much. I felt like Jerome could not be mentioned once in the entire book without reference to the fact that, yes, he's black. But wait, guys, it's okay that he's black cause he's applying to Harvard and Yale. Like, everyone who meets him points this out and it's constantly brought up as, like, part of his character and I genuinely don't think "Jerome" was ever alone in a sentence without "black." Like, girl... 

Sort of similar to Hodges being fat, though there weren't so many comments about weight, but like I don't think I've heard so many fat jokes in a single book before. Like, Hodges fucking hates himself and cannot even talk to his girlfriend without being like "Woe is me, I'm so fat, how could you ever love me?" Or to his neighbor Jerome without a couple self-deprecating jokes about needing to lose 50 pounds. And like how old he is, too, but then he mentions being 62 at some point and I'm like, where is the old?? I felt sort of like Hodges was meant to be a grumpy old man character-turned heartfelt fatherly figure bc of the love from his community, which we all know I love <3 Maybe this trope doesn't work too well with the genre because I was like, girl shut up, you're ugly. And fat too, apparently. Don't care. I hated his character, he drove me nuts & was hella sexist and even openly admits to not taking women seriously because they're "crazy" and women. Then at the end he

fucking has a heart attack, probs because he's so fat

The villain/antagonist/perp (not too familiar with the genre, so what's the correct term here?) was I think influenced by like Ted Bundy and other serial killer types, complete with killer Freudian mommy issues. He was very unlikable, which I guess is one thing King did right bc I am sick and tired of these characters being "undercover misunderstood good guys." 

Overall.... idk what to tell you. I'm glad I tried out a King novel. However, I believe I will stick to girly horror from now on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Suicide attempt

Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Stalking, and Death of parent

eadrianschmitz's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

himpersonal's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love the Holly Gibney character so much, and she’s brilliant here! The trio team she supports has great chemistry. Love the intergenerational relationship between Bill, Jerome, and Holly. Her mom is a bit too much to handle, and Janey needed more story, but overall, a disgusting villain and a lot of great cat and mouse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

jonssweater's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Dementia, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Fire/Fire injury

itsheyfay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

sydgolt's review

challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is why Stephen King gets the hype he does. This book was dark and twisted but also full of love and friendship and bravery. writing from the perspective of both the hero and the villain was so fascinating and, no doubt, challenging. Getting into the mind of someone as unstable as Brady Heartsfield is a testament to the dedication King puts into his books. 

I had so much fun listening to this. I went in blind and, to be quite honest, with low expectations. In my experience, over hyped authors with the number of books that King has tend to disappoint me (with some exceptions of course). But i was beyond pleasantly surprised by this book! It’s not one I’ve heard any reviews about and I’m shocked, because it was just so good. 

I have some issues with how he wrote about the women (making unnecessary comments about their breasts). While those comments are a little icky, they didn’t take away from the quality of the writing or the plot. 

Overall, I love this book, I love King’s writing, and I can’t wait to read more from him!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

yodamordecai's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a nice easy read. The last 50 pages were some of the most tense and enthralling I have ever read, which  bumped this up from a solid 3.5 to a 4.5. There is some stuff that doesn’t really make sense, like why is this seventeen year old with a healthy social life spending so much time with his elderly neighbor? Stephen King also doesn’t really understand computers and it show. If you can overlook some of that stuff, you’ll have a really good time with this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Incest, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content